A Dhaka court today denied bail and sent to jail three BNP leaders including acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and standing committee member Mirza Abbas in connection with the killings of a policeman and three others during December-January anti-government protest.

The three leaders -- who also included Dhaka city unit member secretary Abdus Salam -- saw their petitions turned down after surrendering before the trial court complying with a Supreme Court directive.

The three cases were filed with Ramna Police Station on charges of provoking terrorism and arson attacks on buses during the opposition's agitation in the capital's Bangla Motor and Malibagh areas. The cases were later turned into murder cases.

Acting on government appeals against anticipatory bail to five BNP leaders including the aforementioned three in four cases granted by the HC on January 20, a five-member bench of the Appellate Division of the SC headed by Chief Justice Muzammel Hossain scrapped the HC order.

The SC directed them to surrender before the trial court.

Appearing before the court of Metropolitan Magistrate Shahriar Mahmud Adnan today, the three leaders appealed for bail.

"This court has no jurisdiction to grant them bail in the murder cases as the Appellate Division had earlier cancelled their anticipatory bail granted by the High Court in the cases," said the court.

After the court order, pro-BNP lawyers brought out a procession on the court premises protesting the bail rejection decision.

Protesting denial of bail to the three leaders, BNP has announced demonstrations for tomorrow at all city headquarters, districts, upazilas and thanas across the country.

BNP Joint Secretary General Rizvi Ahmed declared the protest programme at the party’s Nayapaltan central office in the capital.

He also demanded immediate release of the three leaders.

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